Will Taylor’s five tips for creating your dream work space

***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***

Let’s face it: we all spend a lot of time in our place of work — whether that’s a home office or a shared space. So, the place you spend your time might as well be one that inspires you and helps you to work efficiently too. Just in time for us to start working on creating the all-new Khoollect HQ, Will Taylor (the tremendously talented designer behind blog and book Bright Bazaar, and brand-new book Dream Decor) fills us in on his five top tips for creating an idyllic work space:

  1. Lighting is key:
    When it comes to the space in which you work, it doesn’t matter how stylish the wall colour or how comfortable the chair is, you need a range of lighting options to make it a functional space. Consider complementing your overhead lighting or ceiling pendant with a directional task lamp that you can keep on the desk and move as needed. Also, don’t forget to place your monitor so that it’s not in direct sunlight from a window, otherwise you’ll squint a lot due to the glare.
  1. Stacks of storage:
    Much like lighting, without great storage solutions you’ll soon find your workspace is hard to navigate and cluttered. Nine times out of ten, in a home office hidden storage is best. So, opt for a filing cabinet that can hold and organise all your important paperwork. Place this under your desk so that you are utilising the ‘dead’ space, and so that you don’t take up other real estate in the space that can be used for other elements of the space.
  1. Dress your tech!
    By this I mean, don’t leave your cables undressed. Make sure that you don’t have all the wires and cables for all your technology on show. Where you can, keep cords out of sight but also organised. Try a cable management tool/box that feeds all the cables into one ‘control centre’ or a plastic tie, to keep everything in one place that’s easy to reach.
  1. Get creative with colour:
    A home office doesn’t need to be neutral in palette for you to be productive – quite the opposite, in fact! Decorating your home office in a colour you love will help to make your brain more productive. For example, you might choose a lively hue like yellow or zesty green to inspire you, or feel more driven by a calmer shade such as sky blue.
  1. Pepper in inspiration:
    Balance all the necessary practical elements of your home office with some personal pieces that will inspire you. Perhaps it’s a holiday photograph to bring about memories of calm during a stressful day, or a treasured memento framed in a box to inspire your creativity. Anything to make the space feel calm and not clinical!

 Dream Decor: Styling A Cool, Creative And Comfortable Home, Wherever You Live by Will Taylor, photography by Andrew Boyd, is out 17 May. Published by Jacqui Small (£25). More information can be found here.

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WRITTEN BY:
Sonya Gellert

Sonya Gellert is a contributing writer and associate editor for Khoollect. She lives in Sydney....

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Andrew Boyd

Want to know more?

Read our chat with Will Taylor about what inspires him, here.